Sleeping with the Enemy
by Green Eggs and Ham
Summary: Lily and James have been in a prank war for as long as they can remember, but what will happen when Lily's next prank requires her to go on a date with her ultimate enemy?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: War

Lily Evans was wandering the hallways. She knew it was late, and that she would be in trouble if she was caught, but she just couldn't sleep. Although she was getting a bit tired now, she couldn't even go back to the Common Room, because _he _would surely still be up. And running into _him _was the worst thing she could have done.

You see, the two of them had a kind of war going on. He had started it, of course. He started everything. James Potter was bad news, and Lily knew it.

She was really beginning to get tired now, and she really wanted to go back to the Common Room, not that she'd ever admit it, even to herself. She was like that—just a bit stubborn. Well, more than a bit. That was probably why she and James had never gotten along. They were both quite stubborn. But he, of course, had started it.

It had been so long ago. He had told her that she was pretty, and she had smiled, but then she had tried to move, and her feet had stuck to the ground, and she had fallen, and they had laughed. Those awful boys had laughed.

All four of them were terrible, but not to the extent that James Potter was terrible, because he had humiliated her. And because of that, she would never lat him win.

Now, more than six years after the incident, the war was still going strong. Neither of them could ever let go. And that was why, although Lily was not afraid of James Potter, she was not looking forward to going back to the Common Room, where she knew he would be waiting.

She was getting closer to the portrait of the Fat Lady, dragging her feet, but she knew that walking once more around the castle wasn't really an option this late at night, so she gave the password, and slowly climbed in.

Just as she had expected, Potter and Black were still up, sitting in chairs that they had so cleverly moved to block the girls' staircase. They sat there almost regally, smiling ever so slightly at her.

"Lily, darling, we wondered when you would return," James laughed.

Lily ignored this statement, and walked resolutely toward them. "Just get out of the way so that I can go to bed."

"Alright," Sirius said slowly, "if you say please."

James laughed at this and nodded vigorously. "Yea. Go on, say please."

"Oh, grow up!" Lily said, frustrated.

James frowned slightly. "Now, Lily dear, we don't have all night. We've been waiting for _ages_! The least you could do is be polite."

"Yea," Sirius added, smiling. "Go on, show us your nice manners. We deserve it for waiting so long."

"Deserve it?" Lily spat. "The most you two deserve is a slap in the face." She pushed past the boys, and walked up the stairs.

"Evans, wait!" James called after her, and she turned slowly. "You know this little war we have could stop at anytime if you would only go out with me. There's a Hogsmeade trip this weekend… How bout it?"

She turned away without answering, and walked into her room, slamming the door behind her.

"What—who's there?" Marlene McKinnon said groggily, sitting up. Marlene was Lily's best friend, and the only one who never got tired of Lily complaining about James. Most of the other girls just got giggly when anyone brought him up.

"Sorry," Lily said, walking over to her bed. "Just had another little spat with you-know-who."

"Ah, I see," she said, waking up slightly. "And what did his royal highness say this time?"

"Well, he asked me out again," she said, disgusted. "It's getting ridiculous. It's like every time I see him!"

"You know what I think?" Marlene asked after thinking for a moment. "I bet he's got some really big prank planned out if you say yes…"

"Like I ever would," Lily laughed.

"Although…" Marlene said thoughtfully.

"Although what?" Lily gasped. "You're not suggesting that I… that's awful… I couldn't possibly…"

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

Lily lowered her voice, and leaned over toward her. "You were going to say that I _should _go out with him, which is an awful, horrible, fouls idea, and I don't know why you would suggest it."

"But you don't understand," Marlene whispered back. "I have a plan. He wants to pull a prank on you, but he won't be able to if you get him first."

Lily looked at her friend suspiciously.

"You have to go on this date."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Prank

Lily was pretty sure she was losing her mind. She had just accepted a date with James Potter after six years of hating his guts, and now she was walking away, trying desperately not to think of what she had just done. She had to convince herself that it was necessary to go out with him because it was part of the plan, but it was harder than it sounded. But Lily had to do this. It was the only way to get him back for everything he had done to her.

But it just didn't fit. Marlene had said that James was asking her out in order to prank her, and make her miserable, but when Lily had agreed to go to Hogsmeade with him, he hadn't looked like he had any sort of plan. He had looked… surprised. And she had felt embarrassed. He had a way of making her feel like that.

Lily was dreading this date more than anything, but as long as she remembered that this was all about the prank she would pull on him, it wouldn't feel so ridiculous.

To Lily's horror, the days seemed to go by faster than usual, bringing the dreaded date closer and closer until, before long, it was time for the next Hogsmeade trip, and Lily was walking down the steps of the castle with Marlene, who was happily going over everything she had to remember about the prank.

"Now listen," she said, pulling Lily aside. "You mustn't worry. Everything's going to go according to plan. You have your wand?"

"Of course," Lily said, sighing.

"It's going to be perfect. You're going to pull this prank, and everyone is going to laugh, and he's going to be humiliated." Marlene smiled. "Now go."

She gave Lily a little shove, and she continued down the steps toward James. He saw her, and waved happily, smiling at her. She felt unusually self-conscious, but she just kept going over the prank in her head to take her mind off the situation at hand.

"So… can I ask you a question?" James asked as they walked through the village. "Why did you finally agree to go out with me? I mean, I've been asking you for years now."

Lily panicked for a moment, but didn't show it. Smiling calmly, she said, "I just thought it was time I gave you a chance."

James laughed. "Well, I can deal with that."

They continued walking for a while, and then James said suddenly, "Hey, do you by any chance mind going into Zonko's? It's just that there's something I wanted to buy, and I don't know when I'll next get a chance."

"Actually, I love Zonko's," Lily answered, smiling. "I always go in there."

"Really?" James said, looking at her with wide eyes. Then, laughing, he added, "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

Lily laughed with him, but inside she was becoming deeply puzzled. This didn't seem to fit with anything Marlene had said. James seemed really genuine, and he actually seemed to like her. It just didn't feel like he had asked her out for a prank. Unless this was all part of his plan, and if so, it was a pretty dirty trick.

The two of them entered Zonko's, and Lily immediately saw Marlene standing at the other end of the shop, waving her over. She asked James to excuse her for a moment, and then walked over to her friend.

"I see you haven't quite gotten round to it yet," Marlene whispered sarcastically.

Lily paused for a moment. "Well… I was beginning to have quite a good time with James, and I was actually thinking… well, maybe he isn't so bad after all," she said quietly.

Marlene gaped at her. "You _must _be joking. First of all, James Potter absolutely _is _so bad, and second, he's only going to prank you if you don't get him first!"

Lily said nothing, but simply stared at the ground. Marlene looked as if she could hardly believe her friend.

"Lily! By giving up on this plan, you're not only letting yourself down, but me as well! You know how long we've been doing this prank war with those awful boys, and I hate them just as much as you do. Do you realize how selfish you're being?"

Lily simply stared at Marlene, not knowing how to respond to her friend's outburst. She certainly didn't want to let Marlene down, but she had begun to see the real James Potter, and despite herself, she was beginning to like him.

Marlene's face hardened. "Fine. If you won't do it, then I will," she spat, and then turned and left the shop.

Lily was in a panic. She had no idea what Marlene was going to do. Well, she knew the prank in their plan, but she didn't know when or where Marlene was going to do it. Lily and James had left Zonko's, and Lily felt helpless now. She knew she couldn't warn James, because then she would have to tell him about the plan, and that would ruin everything. But this was just as bad. She found herself glancing over her shoulder ever few minutes, looking for Marlene, and it was awful.

Marlene was her friend. Why was she doing this?

"Are you alright?" James asked, smiling gently as they walked through the village. "You seem a bit distracted."

Lily smiled slightly. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine."

"You keep looking over your shoulder… like you're worried about something." He looked genuinely concerned.

"No, really, I'm fine."

"Well that's good. I would hate for anything to be wrong."

He was getting closer. She closed her eyes. His lips were touching hers.

But suddenly he pulled away. She opened her eyes and gasped.

"That's a nice look for you, Potter," Marlene said from behind Lily. People were all around, laughing. They were all staring at James, who was now wearing a pink, frilly dress, with a bow in his hair.

All around them were people laughing, but James just stared at Lily. "So that's what this was? Just another opportunity to get me back for some ridiculous joke I played on you when we were eleven?"

"No, you don't understand. I…"

"Just shut up," he snapped, looking more hurt than she had ever seen him. "You tricked me. Maybe all of the other stuff we've done to each other has been funny, but this was just cruel. I never want to see you again, you bitch."

No one was laughing anymore, but they were all watching as James Potter left Lily Evans standing alone in the middle of the village with tears in her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Broken

Lily felt like her heart was broken. It had been three days, and she hadn't seen or heard from James. It seemed he had really meant it when he said he never wanted to see her again. Lily had had such a wonderful time with him, and it was awful to think that she had hurt him so badly.

Not only that, but she had effectively been betrayed by her best friend. To Marlene's credit, she did seem to be genuinely sorry, but Lily simply wasn't ready to forgive her yet.

It was really quite depressing to think that just a few days ago she had been laughing and talking with Marlene about how pathetic Potter and his friends were, and now she was ignoring Marlene, and hoping that James would at least let her explain what really happened in Hogsmeade.

To make matters worse, the people who had witnessed the Hogsmeade scene had spread it around, so that now practically the entire school knew. It made it quite miserable for Lily to walk around school, with people laughing and whispering about her wherever she went.

Lily's thoughts were interrupted as Marlene came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Are you ok?" she asked timidly.

"Oh, just lovely," Lily spat sarcastically. "Absolutely fabulous."

"Look, I know you're angry—" she started slowly.

"Really? How ever could you tell?" Lily interrupted, turning and walking away, on her way to Potions class. She wasn't in any mood to deal with Marlene, but she just followed her.

"You know that I wasn't trying to be cruel, and I think you really need your best friend right now."

Lily turned to face her. "You know, you're right. I do need a best friend right now. If you find any likely candidates, let me know." She left Marlene gaping at her, and found an empty seat in the back of the Potions classroom.

Lily had never experienced a longer class. It was the first time she had seen James since their date, and he hadn't even glanced at her. Not even dirty looks or anything. The minutes seemed like hours as Lily kept looking up at the back of James' head. In Lily's opinion, he was taking the whole thing a bit hard. She didn't quite understand why he wouldn't just let her explain. It was frustrating for her, because she knew that all she had to do was tell him that she had had nothing to do with Marlene's prank. If he could just know that she wasn't in on it, maybe he would forgive her. Maybe they could be together…

But that was ridiculous. He was sitting in front of her, pretending as though she didn't exist, and she was thinking of dating him. Even that was scary. A week ago she wouldn't even have a friendly conversation with him, and now she wanted to be with him?

Finally the class was over, and Lily was relieved to get back to the common room. But once she got there, it turned out to be worse than being in class. James went immediately into his room, and Sirius, giving Lily plenty of dirty looks, followed him. Remus looked as if he might say something to her, but thought better of it, and followed after his friends, with Peter trailing behind him.

"This is completely ridiculous!" Lily shouted, making some first years in the corner jump. She got up, marched straight over to the boys' door, and pounded on it, not stopping until it opened a crack, and Sirius' head poked out.

"I'm sorry, was there something you wanted?" Sirius said calmly, glaring.

"I just wanted to talk to James," she replied defiantly.

"Well, I'm sorry, but he's not seeing anyone today. And he's not seeing you _ever_. So bye-bye then."

He made to close the door, but she stuck her foot in it. "Well, just tell him that I'm sorry for what happened, but he really needs to let me explain."

Sirius frowned. "Look, I'm not telling him anything, and if you know what's good for you, you'll stop trying to talk to him."

"I can't! I need to explain! He doesn't understand what happened!" she shouted, frustrated.

Sirius stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. "No, _you _don't understand. He was in love with you. He hasn't spent the last few years asking you out for a joke! It was because he _loved _you, and he genuinely wanted to be with you! And when you finally said yes, he was completely thrilled, only to get his heart broken. So no, I will not let you speak to him, or tell him anything from you, because I think he'd be better off without you."

He turned and walked back into the room, slamming the door in Lily's face, and she was too shocked to stop him, or even to correct him, and tell him what had really happened. She just stood there, staring at the door, thinking about nothing but what Sirius had just told her.

Lily sighed. She had really messed things up this time.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Tears

Lily's whole world had been turned upside down. A week ago, she and James had argued, and played little jokes on each other, but all in good fun, and then, all of a sudden, James was looking at Lily with pure disgust, and Lily was practically chasing him around trying to explain. It was more than a little unusual.

Marlene and Lily were beginning to talk to each other again, but they were nowhere near best friends. In fact, they hadn't even gotten anywhere past quick moments of polite conversation. Not that Lily was exactly upset by that… It was like she didn't really feel like making up with Marlene.

So, to sum up, Marlene and Lily weren't really talking, and James and his friends were ignoring Lily completely. Things were definitely not getting any better. And then, suddenly, things got a whole lot worse.

It seemed as if James had finished ignoring Lily, but wasn't quite ready to talk to her again. Instead, he decided to go back to playing tricks on her, but it wasn't the same.

The pranks of before the date had been funny and good-natured. She would turn his skin green, and he would make her shoelaces tie themselves together. This new kind of prank, however, was cruel and vengeful.

Not only that, but Lily didn't have the heart to prank James back after what had happened, so the new prank war was a bit one-sided. That didn't stop James though. Lily couldn't blame him for wanting to get her back… After all, he did think she had gone out with him as a joke, in order to humiliate him… But what he did to her was going a bit too far.

Lily was walking to breakfast, completely exhausted, not only physically, but emotionally as well. This week was just horrendous—there was no other way to describe it. All the things that were happening were practically impossible to deal with and it was really taking a toll on her.

Lily was just tired. So tired, in fact, that she didn't see James Potter walking behind her. And, by the looks of things, he hadn't seen her either. He was absorbed in some book, walking quickly down the hall, rapidly approaching Lily.

"Oh…sorry, Evans," he said quietly as he almost bumped into her. "Didn't see you there."

His voice was flat and emotionless, and he didn't even look at her, but just the fact that he had spoken to her made Lily happy again. "James! Wait!" she shouted after him as he continued walking.

He turned and glanced at her for a moment, and she ran over, excited for a chance to tell him what had happened. He gave her a strange look, as if he was bored, and had much better things to be doing, but she ignored this.

"James, listen. I've been trying to talk to you for ages now. I need to explain what happened at Hogsmeade."

"Look, Lily…"

"No, just listen. You got it all wrong. It wasn't—"

James cut her off before she could get any further. "Hey, can we talk later? It's just that I'm kind of busy right now."

"Oh, yea sure," Lily said, smiling.

James gave her a strange sort of smile back, and then turned and walked away. Lily was thrilled. It was going to get better, and she was so excited. She wouldn't have to be miserable any longer, and maybe she and James would even get together. That Hogsmeade date had been so wonderful, and she wanted to have many, many more. For the first time in a week, it finally looked as if this might be possible.

Lily was so excited about all this that she practically skipped all the way to the Great Hall for breakfast. She felt like being nice to absolutely everyone. She even felt like making up with Marlene. After all, no harm done, right?

But when she got to the Great Hall, something wasn't right. All eyes were on her, and it was strange. Some people were looking at her wide eyed, and others, mostly Slytherins, were laughing.

Lily looked around, puzzled, and her eyes fell on James and his friends. Peter was giggling, Remus was looking resolutely at the floor, and Sirius was laughing and giving James a high five. Bewildered, she looked down at her robes, and gasped. In huge, glittering letters, was written one word: Bitch.

Lily's eyes stung with tears, but she bravely held them back. She looked up at James, and he stopped smiling when he saw her face. She looked more hurt than he had intended. She watched as he stepped forward, as if he wanted to say something, but she couldn't take anymore, and she turned, and ran from the Great Hall as fast as she could.

-----

Lily threw herself onto her bed, the tears flowing freely now. Behind her, she heard the door open and close, and a moment later, Marlene sat next to her, patting her back understandingly.

"I suppose you were right about him," Lily sobbed. "I should have just listened from the beginning. He's awful."

"Well don't worry. We're going to get him back."

Lily looked up. "What? I don't think pranking him back is the best thing to do."

"So you're just going to take this lying down?" Marlene said, standing. "We have to make him pay for what he did to me!"

Lily frowned. "What he did to _you_?"

"Well, you, of course. I meant you," Marlene said quietly, sitting down again.

Lily nodded slowly, accepting it.

"So, we're going to get him back, aren't we?"

"But I… I like him," Lily said quietly. "I don't want to hurt him anymore."

Marlene chuckled cruelly. "Look, I know you don't want to hear this, but he _hates _you. You ought to just give up on anything happening there. Just pretend that Hogsmeade date never happened. Make him your enemy again."

Lily was silent for a moment. "But…"

"No, there's no but," Marlene interrupted. "He's obviously over you, and he wants to make your life hell. You're not going to let him, are you? The only thing to do is to throw all this right back in his face."

"Well, I suppose I could…"

"That's the spirit. And since I'm your best and truest friend, I'll help you out with it."

Lily nodded slowly. She wasn't quite sure that Marlene was right, but she was distraught, and she would have done just about anything to feel better.

So, while Lily sat and listened, Marlene planned out their next move. Tomorrow, the war would be reinstated.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Sabotage

Lily felt awful. Her eyes were puffy, and she was terribly depressed, but she was also determined. Determined to get Potter back for what he had done. She was still lying on her bed with Marlene, but she was rid of the self-pitying attitude, and now what she wanted was revenge.

There was a knock at the door, and Marlene rose to see who it was. "Whoever it is, just tell them to go away!" Lily called after her.

With every intention of doing as her best friend had told her, Marlene opened the door, only to see James Potter.

"I'm sorry, but Miss Evans isn't taking visitors at this time," she said in her snottiest voice. She went to close the door, but he put his foot in it.

"Look, I really need to talk to Lily."

"Well, _she _doesn't really need to talk to you. So bye-bye, then."

"No, this is important. I wanted to tell her that it was wrong for me to take it this far, and I'm sorry. She seemed really upset about that stupid prank, and I never wanted to hurt her like that."

Marlene frowned. "Well that's just lovely. I'll let her know you stopped by."

"Wait, there's more!" he shouted as she tried once again to close the door.

"Marlene!" Lily called from inside. "Tell whoever it is to just leave! I'm not in the mood!"

Her voice was trembling, and James could tell that she had been crying. He took a step forward, but Marlene pushed him away.

"I don't think so Potter," she said, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her.

"Look, I've been thinking, and I realized that that date with Lily was the best date I've ever been on, and I've liked her for so long, and it really did seem like she didn't mean to pull that prank—like it wasn't her—and she's been trying to explain for so long that…well, I should give her a chance, right?"

Marlene stood there, looking at him for a while before she spoke. "You know, I think you're right. She hasn't pranked you for a while, so she must care about you, right?"

James smiled.

"Of course, you really should know for sure before you go spilling your guts to her… After all, I'm sure you don't want to get hurt again."

James looked puzzled. "Ok… but how can I know how she feels about me?"

"Well, that's a tough one," Marlene said, smiling slightly. "But I know what you can do. You played a pretty mean joke on Lily today. So there's two things she could do about it. If she does nothing, then you'll know for sure that she cares about you. But if she pranks you back, you'll know that this is all just a game to her, and she doesn't like you at all." Marlene smiled. "You just have to wait it out."

"Well, I suppose that makes sense…" James said slowly.

"Trust me, I know Lily," Marlene said kindly. "I really do hope this all works out for you."

James smiled. "Thanks so much—you're the greatest!"

For the first time in weeks, he was truly happy. It was finally going to work out.

-----

"That took a long time," Lily said as Marlene walked back into the room. "Who was it?"

"Just Potter," Marlene said, smiling gently.

"What did he want?" Lily asked slowly.

"He was here to tease you. He's such an asshole."

Lily's eyes filled with tears. "I suppose so."

"You don't seem very sure…"

"Well, I just don't know…"

"Look, I think you should know… he was out there saying he never liked you," Marlene said delicately.

"But Sirius told me—"

"Oh yes, and Sirius was there, too," Marlene interrupted quickly. "He said that everything he told you was a lie, and you were an idiot to believe him."

Lily stared at the floor, the tears coming quicker now. "But…that can't be…"

"Look, sweetie… I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I think you need to know the truth," Marlene said quietly, putting her arm around her friend. "The best thing to do would be to go ahead with the plan. Prank him. He deserves it."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Overheard

It had been a full 24 hours since the prank James had pulled on Lily, and Lily knew (because Marlene hadn't stopped reminding her) that something had to be done soon. Thankfully however, for now Marlene was nowhere to be found, and although it made Lily feel a bit guilty, she was glad to have a moment without her friend.

It was nice to have a little peace after all that had been happening, and Lily was just walking along, appreciating it, when she heard Marlene's voice from around a corner. She wasn't in much of a hurry to see her again, so she started to turn and walk away, when she realized that Marlene was talking about _her._

"…and I know it's wonderful that Lily hasn't done anything to you yet, but you have to be sure. Just wait a few more days before you talk to her."

There was a pause, and Lily waited, confused, until she heard another voice that confused her even more: James Potter.

"But what if I wait too long, and she won't accept my apology?"

Lily could have jumped for joy. James was sorry for what he did to her!

"But what if you don't wait long enough and you spill your heart out to her only to get it broken because she doesn't care about you? I'm telling you, you have to be sure that she has feelings for you. I don't want you to get hurt."

Lily frowned. What was Marlene doing? She knew how Lily felt about James, so why wasn't she encouraging him to talk to her?

"You know, Marlene, it's really great that you're doing this," James said quietly. "I mean, I don't believe you would help me out so much, even after everything that happened between us."

Was he crazy? What was he talking about? Marlene would definitely have told her if anything had happened between her and **James Potter**!

"Oh, you know I'd do anything for you," Marlene said softly. "And even if things don't work out with Lily, I'll always be here for you."

Lily knew she couldn't listen to any more. She turned and ran silently back to the common room.

-----

It felt like Lily had been sitting in the common room for hours before Marlene walked in with Potter. They both looked surprised to see her, especially since Lily was glaring daggers at Marlene.

James was the first to speak, though not quite successfully. "Er… hi Lily. How's it going?" When she didn't even look at him, he turned silently and walked quickly toward his room.

"Hi sweetie," Marlene said pleasantly, smiling. "I haven't seem you all day. What've you been up to?"

"Oh, you know—this and that," she answered slowly. "What have _you _been up to?"

Marlene's smile faltered slightly at Lily's tone, but she quickly regained her composure. "Oh, the same sort of thing, really. Are you ok? You seem a bit… odd."

"Oh, just dandy. But back to the previous issue. I'm very interested to know what you've been doing today."

Marlene laughed quietly. "What do you mean?"

Lily stood and looked her friend straight in the eye. "I think you know _exactly _what I mean."

Marlene stopped smiling and matched Lily's glare. "Fine. Let's just stop this pathetic childish thing, and you just tell me what you know."

"I know that you're an evil backstabbing bitch, and you were never really my friend."

"Oh, now that's not entirely true. We were best friends once, weren't we?" Marlene said, smiling again. "But then I saw something I wanted, and you were just getting in the way, so I did something about it. And if that makes me an evil backstabbing bitch, then I guess I am."

Lily stared at her. "How could you do that?"

"Oh don't be so naïve," she spat. "I didn't do anything to you. You hated him, remember."

"Only because of you! Back in first year, when James and his friends played that silly joke on me, it was _you _who convinced me to hate him!"

Marlene laughed. "Yes, I remember that. He turned your hair pink, and you just laughed. Well, I had to do something about that. We couldn't have you two getting along, could we? I could practically see then that you two were perfect for each other."

Lily was silent. It was all coming together now. "So when you pulled that prank in Hogsmeade, you knew he'd blame me, and you knew he'd really hate me for good."

"That's right, sweetie," Marlene said, looking very happy with herself. "So, I think we've pretty much covered everything. I think I'll just head down to dinner now. See ya around!"

"Wait, one more thing," Lily called after her, and then she paused. "James said… well he mentioned that… that something happened between you two. What was he talking about?"

Marlene laughed. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She turned and started toward the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" said a voice from across the room.

"James!" Marlene gasped. For the first time that day, she actually looked flustered, but again, she regained her composure. "I was just talking to Lily about… you."

"I'm perfectly aware of what you were talking to Lily about," he practically growled.

"How long have you been standing there?" Lily asked quietly.

"Long enough," James said, keeping his eyes trained on Marlene.

"So how much did you hear?" Marlene said strongly.

"All of it."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Silence

The silence seemed to last forever.

"You were standing there the _whole _time?" Marlene repeated finally.

"I think we've established that he was," Lily said scathingly.

Marlene smiled shakily. "You know, I didn't mean any of that stuff. It was all just a joke."

"That was a pathetic attempt," James laughed. "I would have expected better from someone as manipulative as you. If you expect either of us to believe that for a second, you're crazier than I thought."

"No, really. It's not at all what it sounded like! If you'll just let me explain…"

"I think you've done enough explaining for one day," James chuckled.

Marlene looked up at James pleadingly. "No, really. You don't understand!"

"Give it up, Marlene," Lily said. "It's over."

"Shut up, you stupid bitch! This is all your fault!"

"Don't you dare talk to Lily like that!" James shouted. "She doesn't deserve that, and you don't deserve her."

"Oh yes, none of us deserve the _precious _Lily!" Marlene shouted back. "She's just too perfect—too good for everyone! We're not worthy to stand in her shadow!"

Lily gaped at her. "What are you talking about?"

James looked as if he didn't know whether to laugh or not. "Have you lost your mind?"

Quietly, Marlene said, "Maybe it seems like it." She turned away. "But it wasn't supposed to be like this."

The silence returned for a few seconds, and then Marlene seemed to find herself again. "Well, I'm going to dinner now. Goodbye. I hope you two are very happy together." She started towards the door, and then stopped and turned back to them. "Just kidding." And then she left.

"Well, that was very, very strange," James said after a moment.

Lily collapsed in a nearby armchair. "I really thought I knew her. And the whole time she was…" She trailed off. "I just feel stupid."

"It's not just you," James said slowly. "No one realized what a manipulative bitch she was."

"But she was my _best friend _for _seven years_!" Lily said, getting up and starting to pace the common room. "You'd think in _seven years _I'd realize that my best friend hated my guts!"

"Well I didn't know either… Not that I was even _remotely _as close to her as you were, but we still…" He trailed off.

Lily stopped pacing and looked at him. "What _did _happen between you two?"

James paused for a long time, and Lily was beginning to think he would never answer, but finally he did. "It all started a couple of years ago. I had just pretty much accepted the fact that I'd never be with _you,_ so we…" He paused.

"You what?"

"I had told her from the beginning that I would never feel about her the way I felt about you, but it all happened anyway."

"_What _happened?"

"She told me she didn't want you to find out, and that was fine, because I didn't particularly want you to know either. So for a while, we just did it in secret."

"Did _what_?"

James paused. "It was all about sex."

Lily was silent, and looked away.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I really am. But it didn't mean anything. I don't know why it happened. I guess she just manipulated me, just like she did with everyone else."

"You… slept with her." Lily said slowly. "How long was this going on?"

"About a year," James said quietly.

"You two were having sex for a _year _and I never knew about it? You and my _best friend_ were screwing each other, and I never even guessed?" Lily shouted, sounding completely miserable. She collapsed in an armchair, and stared into the fire, whispering, "I told her everything." Lily wasn't quite sure if she was upset that it had happened, or that Marlene had kept it from her. She was feeling as though the last few years had been a total lie.

"Look, I really am sorry, Lily," James said sincerely.

Lily gave him a small smile. "It's fine. I'm ok." She felt as though her world was collapsing around her.

"Don't pull that, Lily. I'm not stupid," James said, sitting down next to her. "I know you're not ok."

Lily laughed. He knew her too well. "Ok, genius. I'm not ok. But I will be. Eventually."

There was a long pause, and neither of them spoke for a while. They didn't need to. Lily put her head on James' shoulder, and James wrapped his arm around her.

"Do you think we can fix this?" Lily said after a while. "Fix us?"

"Definitely," James said softly.

There was another long pause, longer than the last, but the two of them weren't thinking of Marlene anymore, because it just didn't matter.

"I love you, Lily Evans," James said softly.

Lily looked up at him, and smiled. "I love you, too."

-----The End-----

So there it is! I'm so glad that so many people loved it! Thanks for all the great reviews!

Just so you guys know, I'm writing another story called "In My Own Words", and I think it's gonna be good, so I hope you all read it. I should post the first part in a couple of days.


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